Page:John Adams - A Defence of the Constitutions of Government of the United States of America Vol. I. (1787).djvu/86

48 men; the armour of the old Swis warriors, and the bow and arrow with which William Tell hot the apple on the head of his on—

Who with the generous rutics ate,

On Uri's rock, in cloe divan,

And wing'd that arrow, ure as fate,

Which fix'd the acred rights of man,

The overeion is the city of Zurich. The overeignty reides in the two burgomaters, in the little council compoed of forty-eight members, and the grand council compoed of one hundred and ixty-two members; all taken from thirteen tribes, one of which is of the nobles, and the other twelve of citizens.

Although there are twelve thouand ouls in the capital, and one hundred and fifty in the canton, there are not more than two thouand citizens. In early times, when the city had no territory round it, or a mall one, the citizens were in poeion of the government; when they afterwards made additions by conquet or purchae, they till obtinately held this power, and excluded all their new ubjects. it is an hundred and fifty years ince a new citizen has been admitted: beides electing all the magitrates and holding all offices, they have maintained a monopoly of commerce, and excluded all trangers, and even ubjects of the canton, from conducting any in the town. Such are commons, as well as nobles and princes, whenever they have power unchecked in their hands!

There is even in this commercial republic a tribe of nobles, who confider trade as a humiliation. {nop}} The